As Sorena brings her axe down toward the unconscious human woman, I start screaming again. Screaming and wriggling and tearing at the bonds. Tilda holds me down with magical strength as Sorena moves toward me, raising her bloodied axe.
Then, behind her, a glittering weapon flashes through the air. Sorena is thrown aside as a guardian spins around and kicks. Tilda lunges for him, but he slashes at her with two knives and kicks again, sending her flying behind the statue. Then he lifts me. Ryn, my brother—what is he doing here?—lifts me from the statue. How did he get past all the fighting? He runs a short distance away and places me on the ground near the trees, then slices through my bonds with one of his golden, sparkling knives. Knives that can cut through almost anything. A moth, one o
